2nd Chapter - Serve Our Boaters Better

Last June, I wrote a column about how the State of Washington could “Serve Our Boater’s Better.” Since then, a lot has happened and I’m eager to share the progress we have made on this subject.

Here is the one-paragraph summary of that column:

Boaters in Washington pay $75M in taxes and fees to the State. Most of the money goes into the general fund, rather than in specific programs to benefit boating and boaters. Three states have a Department of Boating. Washington has 6 different agencies that regulate, monitor or control boating. Maybe the State could conduct a study that would take a holistic look at how boaters are being served by conducting a study. And maybe, that study would cause the State to invest some of the $75M into boating programs and facilities.

Shortly after I wrote that column, I learned that Bill Fromhold, a State Representative from Vancouver, Washington was interested in boating and boating safety. By the middle of June we were able to meet with Rep. Fromhold and another Representative, Gary Alexander from Olympia. The meeting was organized by representatives of the State Parks Department, who are responsible for our state-wide boating safety programs.

As it turns out, that meeting in June was the start of something very good for boating programs in the State. We created a “Boating Study Group” that met last fall to come up with recommendations for a bill that Rep. Fromhold was interested in introducing. The group, led by Steve Greaves looked a lot like the group we created four years ago to address the mandatory boater education issue.

By January of this year, details of a bill had been hammered out with many interested boating groups including the leadership of the Recreational Boating Association of Washington (RBAW). Last month, Rep. Fromhold introduced House Bill 1651 which would take all the money that boaters pay each year in what is called the Watercraft Excise Tax and redirect it from the State’s General Fund to a new fund dedicated to boating programs. Included in the bill is a requirement that the State authorize a study to determine how the state is serving boaters and boating. The bill requires that the study be done by December 2007 and a report given to the legislature next January.

All this is fantastic news in a world where the wheels of government often times turn slower than you’d hope.

The Watercraft Excise Tax is paid annually by all registered boat owners in the State based on one-half percent of the value of the boat. The tax currently raises $17M per year. Imagine some or all of that money going into boating programs.

Each year over 2,000 bills are introduced in the Washington State legislature. Less than ½ ever get a hearing and about 10% are approved and signed into law by the Governor. The first step in the process is for the bill to get a hearing and then to get passed out of the committee of origin. I am happy to say that HB 1651 was voted out of the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources late last month.

The next stop is the Appropriations Committee and by the time you read this, it may have died or still be alive and moving through the system. I hope and pray that it gets traction and momentum in the weeks ahead and makes it all the way to the Governor’s desk. That is a long-shot. Most successful bills take 2-3 years before they pass and the lion’s share never makes it past the first committee.

If you want to read the bill, you can go to www.leg.wa.gov. Click on “bill search” and then type in “1651.” Not only can you read the bill, you will be able to track where it is in the legislative pipeline.

At some point, you may get a call from us asking you to contact your representatives and or your state senator urging them to support HB 1651. At the end of the day, or maybe before the end of this legislative session in April, we just might have raised the profile of boating and boaters in the legislature and successfully redirected some significant money that boaters contribute to the state from the General Fund to a new program that will help “Serve our Boaters Better.”

With warm regards,

Michael Campbell
President
michael@nmta.net